


Princess of the Playground

by ArtificialCatrina



Category: RuPaul's Drag Race RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Aquaria is a brat, Bullying, Cracker is cute af, F/F, Homophobia, I'm running out of ideas, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Parenthood, Sharon just tries her best, mentions of bullying
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-28
Updated: 2018-10-28
Packaged: 2019-08-09 01:30:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16440488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtificialCatrina/pseuds/ArtificialCatrina
Summary: At the tender age of six years old, Aquaria Needles is not exactly an angel of a kid. Other words like bratty, unstable and... why not?, a little mean would fit better. At her birthday party, what she thought would be the best of her life, turns out being a life changing experience.





	Princess of the Playground

**Author's Note:**

> During a huge creativity block, I decided to write whatever that came to my mind: some things were good, some were definitely not good. This is one of the few things I liked. There will be three chapters so far, but if I have more ideas I may add some. Thanks for reading!

The weather guy had said there will be no rain back in the morning, but judging by the way the grey clouds threatened the sky, Los Angeles would be victim of the pouring rain in the beginning of February.

Sharon Needles sighed. There was so much to do and so little time. Luckily she would achieve going to the grocery store. It was a shame, the plastic cups and dishes would have to be bought the next day, if there was enough time… Sharon would tell Alaska about it then. She hated the idea of needing help of the blonde, who had absolutely no reason at all to help but did anyways, but Sharon decided: desperate times were a call to desperate measures.  


“Hi baby.”

She didn’t realize when Alaska had walked into the kitchen, still on the old sport shorts and I <3 New York shirt she wore to sleep and her ridiculous long hair tangled in a mess.

Alaska had taken a week of working at home to help Sharon with Aquaria’s birthday party. She knew how stressed her girlfriend could get and even though Sharon knew her intentions were nothing but good, she couldn’t help feeling a little jealous. When you’re your own boss at the exportation apartment in the company, that kind of stuff is easy.

Yawning, she walked to the bar where Sharon was having the third mental breakdown of the day in front of her laptop.

“Hey babe,” Sharon’s eyes were still glued to the screen.

Alaska didn’t even bother to look at whatever she was doing. She sat on the nearest stool and kissed Sharon’s cheek softly.

“Already started with work?”

“I should finish this by eleven.”

The small clock in the corner of the screen read 09:45 a.m.

“It’s still early, Shar. You’ll have time,” she sweetly hummed, but frowned after a second. “Wait a minute, is Saturday, why are you even working?”

“Aqua’s birthday is this Wednesday and if I wanna stay home to be with her I have to finish this,” it was a simple explanation, and by the robotic way Sharon said it, Alaska confirmed she had done a rehearsal before.

“As I already said, you’ll finish this just on time. Just calm down.”

As Alaska sprung from the stool, muttering something between the lives of I’ll make some coffee, Sharon dropped the papers over the laptop and rubbed her eyes.

“Shit, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

“I know how stressed you are over the party, but you can’t keep doing this to yourself; you’re already trying too hard!”

“I just want Aquaria to be happy,” Sharon snorted, feeling defeated.

“Sharon, she already sees you as a fucking superhero. She can’t be any happier with all you do.”

“That’s why this has to be right! What if I let her down?”

Another kiss was pressed into her temple. “You won’t,” Alaska whispered in her ear. “I’ll help, okay? And I don’t care if you want or not. Give me the half of the things you have listened for the party and I’ll get them for you.”

Sharon was about to argue when she heard the door being pushed open and the tiny figure of her daughter running to her arms. “Mommy!”

“Hello, sweet pea,” she smiled as she pushed the papers and laptop to a side to welcome Aquaria.

For some reason, Aquaria looked quite steady that morning. She was usually moody and whiny every Saturday when she got up early, but she was smiling this time. She even helped Alaska with breakfast as Sharon placed every item related to work away for the morning, being stated that Aquaria hated cooking and normally Sharon would be the one helping.  


“It’s almost my birthday!” she sang happily once the three of them sat at the kitchen bar. “What are we gonna do on my birthday, mama?”

“Whatever you want to do,” she simply replied.

“May I invite my friends to the party?”

“Sure.”

“All of them?”

“Yes, baby.”

“May I not invite Eureka? I don’t like her since she broke my Barbie doll.”

“I’ll tell her mom to not bring her,” Sharon decided.

Aquaria grinned, pleased. “I want a cake. A big one, with stars and a lot of sparkles and my name on it!”

“I don’t think a big cake is necessary,” Alaska calmly said. “Your friends are just like five kids, with us would be eight, Aqua.”

The kid stopped chewing the piece of melon in her mouth. She swallowed slowly and stared at Alaska, “I want a big cake,” she repeated.

“But we can use that money for other things,” the blonde tried to lower her voice for a sweeter one.

Sharon sighed. The peace that morning was too much it was getting suspicious, she should’ve known something would ruin it.

“I said I want a big one!”

Why couldn’t they have a peaceful morning? Just one?

“Aquaria, please understand that it’s not necessary.”

Suddenly the apple juice was more important for Sharon that the already forming scene in front of her.

“You’re not my real mom and you’ll never be!”

Aquaria jumped out of the stool and stormed out of the kitchen. Sharon choke on the juice and Alaska gasped in pure horror. Oh, what a beautiful morning.

-

“Have you talked to her?”

Sharon heard Alaska snorting from the other side of the line.

“ _Not even tried since I left her on ballet practice. I was scared_ ,” she said. A loud laughter sounded and she rolled her eyes. “ _Sharon, you’re an asshole. And you’re not helping_.”

“Sorry, babe, but what else can I do? My wife is scared of my daughter, who in fact, is five years old. This is amazing,” Sharon continued laughing.

“ _It’s your fault!_ ”

“Oh, is it?”

“ _Yeah! She’s terribly stubborn, just like..._ ”

“Don’t even dare finish that sentence, Alaska Thunder.”

“ _See? That’s my point_ ,” Alaska remarked, but Sharon knew she was smiling, even though she couldn’t see her. “ _And you call me Alaska Thunder when you wanna sound serious. Do you know what she called me when we were in the car? Miss Thunder!_ ”

In the small bakery, Sharon’s laughter was everything that could be heard for a second. She pulled the phone away from her ear just to laugh properly, not caring about the eyes of the rest of the people in line on her, before placing it against her ear again only to ear Alaska still complaining.

“ _I don’t even get it! Why does she call me Miss Thunder? I moved literally three years ago!_ ”  


“Don’t expect her to call you mommy.”

“ _Only you can do that, right?_ ” Alaska smugly joked.

“Shut up,” Sharon tried to oppress a smile by biting her lower lip, rolling her eyes. The line became shorter and she sighed in relief. “Listen, I’m almost done here. Where are you?”

“ _Almost out of the groceries. I’ll pick Aquaria up and go home_.”

“Great, there’s something else I need to buy so I’ll be there a little late.”

“ _What? Sharon, you should’ve written it on the list!_ ”

“It’s not for the party. I know how we’re gonna solve Aquaria’s tantrum.”

-  


Aquaria had been silent since Alaska picked her up from the dance studio. When they got finally home, she didn’t wait for Alaska to turn off the car and opened the door with all the strength she, of course, didn’t have, so Alaska had to help her opening it anyways.

“I’ll carry your bag if you want,” Alaska had offered, but the kid was already walking to the house without the damned bag.

She knocked the door once and twice, hoping for Sharon to open it, but that didn’t happen. After a couple of minutes, Aquaria desisted and turned to see Alaska standing a few meters from the door with a frown.

“I’ll open it,” Alaska rolled the keys in her fingers.

“Where is my mommy?” Aquaria required, coldly and slowly, almost like a threat. Alaska couldn’t understand how she was so scary.

“She’s busy with... uh, something. She should be here soon.”

The bag was too heavy and Alaska hated the uncomfortable silence with the kid. She only wished Sharon would be there soon.

Once they were inside, Alaska tried her best to smile, “Aquaria, what about some hot chocolate?”

But the door to the kid’s room on the second floor was already being slammed shut. Alaska threw the bag and herself at once at the couch, where she decided she wasn’t gonna get up for a long time.

It turned out (surprisingly?) in Alaska falling asleep. Cold fingers touching her cheek was what woke her up, meeting Sharon’s figure in front of her.

“Alaska? Someone broke into the house while you were sleeping and stole all your Lady Gaga albums and hairspray!”

Only those words were necessary for Alaska to fly out of the couch. “Oh my god, Sharon call the police! Oh my god, oh my god! I’ll go check my back up!” she wobbly stood, grabbing Sharon’s shoulders. “You know what?! I don’t need the police, I’ll catch that bastard myself! Hand me the keys!”

She stormed to the door, palpating everywhere in a search for the keys when she stopped and deadpanned. Alaska turned to Sharon, who squirmed on the couch as she grabbed her stomach; she was laughing.

“What you laughing at?!”

But Sharon didn’t stop. Tears started forming in her eyes, only pausing to cough at the effort her throat was doing with cackling.

“N-nobody broke in-n,” Sharon said, struggling to stop her laugh. “O-oh fuck, this is the best thing I’ve ever seen.”

“But my albums and hairspray!” protested Alaska before things could fit in their place. She pointed accusingly at Sharon, her jaw falling in surprise. “You, dirty liar!”

It took several seconds for Sharon to steady herself. When she finally did, she walked closer with the sweetest smile.

“I had to. I  _really_ had to.”

Alaska rolled her eyes so hard she thought they could pop out of her head. “You’re a terrible wife. I want a divorce.”

“C’mon! You love me.”

“You scared the shit out of me!”

The height difference wasn’t much more than a probably two inches, but Alaska was as tall as a tree (something that Sharon always liked to mock her for) and Sharon still had to wrap her arms around her neck and stand on her toes to kiss her deeply, still with that stupid smile that Alaska hated (she loved it, but circumstances were hard) remaining on her lips. Said smile that became even stupider when Alaska followed said kiss.

“Sometimes I hate you so much,” Alaska whisperer into her lips.

“And the rest of the times?” Sharon whispered back.

“I just hate you.”

Sharon pulled back, resting her forehead on Alaska’s. “I have a question. An important one. This can determine the future of our marriage.”

“Spill.”

“You really have a back up of Lady Gaga albums and hairspray?”

They both laughed.

“Shut up. I’m a prepared woman.”

“That’s why I married you,” Sharon proudly praised.

After a long, comfortable silence, Alaska spoke again. “What did you buy?” she asked curiously.

“I almost forget about that,” Sharon’s eyes widened. “Aquaria is watching Frozen on her room, call her first. I want her to see it too.”

Alaska nodded. She stood at the beginning of the staircase and yelled Aquaria’s name until the kid showed up.

“Mommy? What’s happening?” Aquaria as she walked down the stairs.

“Come to the living baby, I have something for you!” Sharon replied and no more than two seconds, Aquaria was sitting on the couch.

“What is it? What is it?” she kept asking, clapping excitedly.

Sharon pulled a big black plastic bag from behind the couch, where Aquaria was. Alaska stood nervously by her, trying to decipher what was going on but trying her best to seem relaxed in front of the kid.

“Aquaria, this is your birthday gift. You were supposed to have it until Wednesday but I considered it and you’ll have it today,” said Sharon. “That’s why it is not wrapped properly.”

“It’s fine! I want it, I want it!” Aquaria was desperate, and the last thing in her mind was how the gift seemed on the outside. “I want it!”

Sharon looked at Alaska, almost saying look at this, and handed Aquaria the bag. The kid sat in the floor and ripped the bag open, so violently Sharon raised a brow, but let her do the rest; Aquaria threw the papers that packed the gift away, soon revealing the real gift.

Aquaria gasped and Alaska gasped but Sharon smiled, proud of herself.

Inside the bag, under layers and layers of paper covering it, a pink box contained what Aquaria had been talking about for the past two months. A set of perfectly ordered rhinestones, ribbons, along with other materials with adorable shiny characters.  _Decorate your clothes_  and  _for future fashion designers_  read on one of the sides of the box.

It had all started when, a month ago, Aquaria found a fashion magazine in one of Sharon’s work papers. She asked her mommy, with whiny eyes of puppy if she could keep it because  _all the clothes were so pretty and she just wanted to see_ , and Sharon accepted with no doubt. Since then both Sharon and Alaska noticed a few strong preferences by Aquaria to anything related to fashion, starting with how much she had screamed when she discovered a toy company had created a set of design tools.

She begged, she kicked, but Sharon and Alaska shook their heads when they saw the price. It was too expensive for being just some stones and shiny shit, but for Aquaria it meant begging for it during weeks and weeks of agony for Sharon and Alaska, and it became worse when it turned out that the toy was sold out. Finally, she seemed to forget the toy completely, but her excitement when she lifted the box in her hands was genuine.

“Mommy!” she cried, running to hug Sharon. “I love it! Thank you!”

“It’s not all the credit on me,” Sharon petted the kid’s dark hair.

“Isn’t?” Alaska wrinkled her nose in concern, but Sharon ‘shh’ed her.

“How is that?” Aquaria asked.

Sharon knelt, so they’d be at the same height. “Alaska helped me looking for this to be your gift, Aqua. She deserves some credit too. I know you’re mad at her for all the cake thing, but I think it’d be fair if you listened to her and get to an agreement, don’t you think?”

Aquaria looked up at Alaska. She seemed to be thinking on Sharon’s words very deeply.

“I forgive you,” she stated in a dignified voice and with that, stormed upstairs with her beloved gift in hands.

Sharon and Alaska stood on shock for a while.

“That didn’t end as I thought it would,” Sharon muttered.

Alaska laughed quietly as they went back to the couch, snuggling together. “It’s fine, at least you tried. I’m bond to be hated by her.”

“I’ll eventually talk to her, I promise.”

“You don’t need to promise anything,” Alaska kissed her shortly, trying to erase the defeated grimace on Sharon’s face. “Now, tell me how the hell did you get that set? I thought it was sold out!”

Sharon smiled widely. “Oh, right! Get ready for the best story of your life.”

-

It was ten in the morning of a cloudy Sunday when Bob Cracker knocked the door to the house next to his. It was time, after two exhausting weeks of unpacking, to meet the new neighbors.

His daughter Brianna stood beside him, two neat ponytails at the sides of her head, tied with hot pink ribbon that matched her perfectly smoothed dress of the same color, shiny black shoes, and long white socks. She was the most excited one at the idea of meeting new people and proved it every two seconds when she asked her Daddy if they would go visit the new neighbors. The tenth time, Bob accepted.

A black haired woman opened the door. Bob smiled, and scanned her for a second when she didn’t return the smile; through her sharp eyes and mouth forming a flat line over her face, it seemed like she didn’t enjoy any visits.

“Hello,” said Bob. “My name is–”

“For the  _last_ time,” the woman spat, and Brianna stepped back at the fright of her raspy voice. “I don’t want any bible and if someone else of that church of yours come again I won’t open the door this time.”

Before Bob could reply, the woman had already slammed the door on their faces. Brianna whined about the lady being rude,  _Daddy! She said bad words to us_ , but Bob remained silent and walked some steps to a window. He could only look at the inside, where through the thin curtain the same woman could be seen walking over the couch of their living room to the arms of another woman. Then he understood everything.

“Daddy!” Brianna called, pulling his shirt down to draw his attention back to her. “Let’s go to the other house!”

“Wait a minute, darling.”

He knocked the door again.

“Why did you do that?” Brianna panicked. “She’s gonna scream at us!”

“I need to talk to the lady, Brianna. Be good and maybe she won’t scream at us this time.”

When the door opened, Brianna hid behind Bob’s legs.

“I told you to–”

“I’m not from church,” was everything he said, but worked to soften the woman’s face. It changed from concern to shock within seconds. “My name is Bob, I just moved to the next house.”

For his surprise and Brianna’s, her face broke into a huge smile. The little wrinkles around her eyes made her seem less of a threat.

“Oh! I’m so sorry for that!” her voice became as sweet as honey as she held her hand out to shake Bob’s. “Those Christians have been knocking at the door all week. It’s so tiring! My wife and I even pulled down every curtain so they couldn’t see we were home. Please come in, I’m Sharon.”

Bob looked down at Brianna, almost saying  _I told you so_ , and guided her inside the house. The little kid didn’t seem scared of Sharon anymore, especially when she offered Brianna some cookies they had in the kitchen.

The insides were simple. Beige walls, paintings and pictures of Sharon with a little kid hanging on the walls, some of them included another woman that Bob imagined was with Sharon when he saw through the window. The house was warm and colorful, a difference of Bob’s that still had a nostalgic cold feeling of newness with it that he desperately tried to get rid of.

Sharon spoke a little while they walked to the now empty living room. She was a publicist, from Pennsylvania but moved to Los Angeles a few years ago and pointing at one of the pictures in the walls, mentioned she was married to a woman called Alaska and had a beautiful daughter called Aquaria.

“I think she has around your age,” she told Brianna.

Bob palmed the kid’s shoulder, smiling. “Did you hear that? You’ll have someone to play with.”

Brianna stared at the picture way longer than Bob did.

They had just sat in the living room when a voice made its way from another point of the house.

“Sharon? Who was at the door?”

“Not Christians,” Sharon happily announced. She was cackling before she looked back at Bob, trying to look apologetic as she killed her laugh. “I’m sorry, but they’re just... are impossible.”

“I get it, actually,” he nodded, and laughed with her. “They came the first day we moved. I tried to be nice but it was over when they said it was wrong for me to raise my child all on my own.”

Sharon’s smile faded as fast as it came. “That’s horrible, I’m sorry you had that first impression of the neighborhood. Not everyone is like that.”

“I know. I’m glad for that.”

“Some are just like me,” she smiled. “Or my wife. You have to meet her, I’m sure you both will love her.”

“How is she like?” Brianna asked, her eyes shining for the first time since she had seen the picture of Sharon’s daughter. In the middle of both changes of humor she had just been sitting wordlessly besides Bob.

“She is like...” Sharon paused to consider it. “Imagine a Barbie doll you grab from the garbage, cut the hair of other three dolls and glue all of it to her head and the voice of a snail. If snails had voices.”

Bob blinked at the explanation, but Brianna’s excitement seemed intact. Just in that moment a tall woman showed up opening a door at the other side of the living room.

“I know you did that trying to insult me, but I actually liked that description of me,” she scoffed to Sharon, before turning to the guests. “Hi! My name is Alaska, sorry for taking so long to come here.”

Alaska was such a character. And somehow Sharon’s description was very accurate. She had the biggest hair, piled messily on top of her head with a poor brooch, and her voice was low and slow... like a snail. She shook Bob’s hand and petted Brianna’s ponytails before directly sitting next to Sharon.

They had sunk into a deep conversation that involved the life in that exact neighborhood. According to Sharon, everything was fine except for the Christians who lived at the end of the block and decided it was fine to walk around and try to stick their religious interests with the people who also lived there, but rolled her eyes and decided it was better just to ignore them at the end. Alaska spoke about the school Aquaria was in, the clean asphalt and near grocery stores, along with simple things that made Bob think maybe moving wasn’t a bad idea after all as he thought weeks ago.

The three of them were too busy discussing what Brianna cataloged as “adult things” as she remained bored, resting her chin on her hand. Visiting the neighbors wasn’t definitely as she thought it would be, and Sharon hadn’t given her any cookie yet. Her eyes fell into one of the pictures on the wall.

She couldn’t help but feel something close to fear when she saw Aquaria’s face on the picture. She didn’t look nice or friendly, with a neutral face in all the pictures, even when Sharon promised she would be  _so excited to play with Brianna_. What if Aquaria didn’t like her? What if Aquaria was the only kid in the neighborhood? Who would Brianna play with?

“So, Bob,” Alaska cleared her throat at Sharon sprung from the couch to bring some tea for their guests. “How have you and Brianna been feeling about moving? Are you guys comfortable here?”

“We lived in New York before. I have to admit it’s not very alike, but we’re great here, right Bri?” the kid sat straight and nodded eagerly at the mention of her name. “Now I’m just worrying about school for Brianna. It’s gonna be another big change... you said Aquaria’s school is good, didn’t you?”

Brianna started to actually listen again. Maybe she could make more friends at that school if Aquaria didn’t like her.

“The best one I know!” Alaska confirmed, and giggled seconds later. “Even though it’s the only one I know. Have you inscribed her yet?”

“We went on Friday, actually.”

“I’m sure she’ll be just fine. The teachers are cool, the classrooms have tons of toys to play with, and the playground is huge.”

Brianna tried as hard as she could to picture it and leaned back into the couch, no sign of boredom on her this time, only her eyes looking at no point in specific as she dreamt.

“Alaska,” Sharon walked again in the living room. “I think Aquaria is up already, I’ll go get her– can you get the tea?”

“Sure!” she smiled apologetically at Bob and rushed to the kitchen.

“Are you excited to meet Aquaria?” Bob asked at his daughter when Sharon and Alaska left the room. Brianna shrugged, causing him to frown. “What is that? I thought you wanted to meet new people.”

“I don’t know if she’ll like me,” she confessed in a small voice.

“That’s silly, Bri. I’m sure you will be great friends.”

Brianna sighed when her dad waved her worries again. The staircase squeaked with steps and she looked up, meeting Aquaria, slowly walking with Sharon by her side. She had messy long hair as dark as Sharon’s. Brianna giggled at how alike they were, with the same scary faces when none of them smiled. The only difference was that at least she knew Sharon wasn’t as scary as she looked.

“Brianna, this is Aquaria,” Sharon pushed her daughter forward. Brianna jumped out of the couch only to notice Aquaria was barely taller than her. “Aquaria, this is Brianna, the new neighbor. Say hi.”

An usual meeting with another kid meant a hug for Brianna, but when she was about to lift her arms Aquaria walked away. Then she realized it didn’t mean the same for everybody.

“Aquaria!” Sharon hissed. The kid ignored the calls from her mother and walked to the kitchen, not even saying a word. Sharon turned back to Bob with a weak smile. “I’m so sorry for that. She’s kind of lazy on Sundays.”

“It’s fine,” Bob assured, but Brianna felt tears forming on her eyes.

“Oh, darling, please don’t cry,” Sharon knelt in front of Brianna, wiping the tears off her cheeks with her hand. “It’s nothing personal I promise. Please don’t cry.”

Bob cursed himself for not caring as much as Sharon seemed to do. It was hard to remember that Brianna was still a child, and she was very sensitive. Those Christians were right when they said it was a bad idea for him to raise Brianna all on his own.

“Maybe they would know each other better if they played for a while,” he hesitantly proposed.

“That’s a great idea,” Sharon agreed. “On the backyard are a lot of things you can play with! What do you think?”

Brianna looked up at her dad for a second before nodding weakly.

“Yes. Thank you, miss Sharon.”

“I’ll go and tell Aquaria. Wait a second.”

In the instant Sharon left, Bob sighed heavily.

“Bri, I’m so sorry. I just want you to have friends and I’m a little tired for the moving... I should’ve ignored you like that.”

“It’s fine!” she wrapped her tiny arms around him, relaxing into his embrace. “I’ll do my best to be friends with Aquaria.”

“That sounds great, Bri. I’ll do my best to help you in anything you need. Sounds fair?”

She nodded happily when Sharon’s head poked into the room.

“Bri, I’ll show you the backyard while your dad stays with us in the kitchen,” she announced.

For Brianna’s good luck, the kitchen was just separated by the backyard for a glass door, so she wouldn’t feel so alone... with Aquaria. Aquaria, the same one who stared coldly at her from her chair in the kitchen. Alaska asked Brianna if she wanted to wait for Aquaria inside, but she was too scared so she said no, which left her walking alone to the backyard, jumping when Alaska closed the glass behind her.

The space was big, just like in her house, which she could see behind the fence that divided both backyards. The only difference was that Aquaria had way more toys that Brianna had. Actually, she hadn’t had the time to get any of her toys out of the boxes. There were dolls, cars, tracks for those cars, Legos, stuffed animals on blankets on the grass pretending to have a tea party with plastic cups on their paws. Brianna looked at everything her eyes could reach, fascinated, before she saw it.

It was a swing. A little, beautiful swing. Brianna smiled at the simple sight of it. She always told her mother she wanted a swing so bad, but money issues were enough to keep her from having one. She ran to the swing and sat, at first almost falling from it, but soon balancing herself from a side to another in perfect synchrony. The soft wind on her cheeks felt amazing.

“That’s mine.”

A sudden voice made Brianna lost any equilibrium she could ever had. She fell on her ass, back against the wet grass thanks to the rain the day before. Aquaria was looking at her and from her position above, she looked like she can step on Brianna.

“What?” was all Brianna could say, feeling her dress getting stained but feeling too intimidated to move.

“The swing,” for the first time, Brianna could hear Aquaria’s voice; soft and emotionless, like Aquaria herself. “Is mine.”

“Oh.”

“Get out the way,” she spat. Was Brianna that small that Aquaria could boss her around just like that?

The answer was: yes, actually yes, she was that small. She squirmed on the grass until she could get to her feet.

Brianna paused to analyze the situation. Her dad was just a few meters away, on the other side of a glass door, and she had promised to do her best to be friends with Aquaria. Suddenly, with those thoughts in mind, she didn’t feel as small as she did before.

“Maybe we can share it,” she whispers, but Aquaria wasn’t on the swing. She kept staring at Brianna plainly.

“Share what?”

“The swing.”

“No. It’s mine.”

Brianna looked around, thinking there had to be something...

“What about the Legos?”

“They’re mine too.”

She pouted. “Everything is yours, I know! I just want to play.”

Aquaria’s face remained intact. “You have no toys to play with.”

“Your mom said I could play with yours.”

“My mommy would never do that!” Aquaria snapped, making Brianna wince.

“But... I just wanna play. Please?”

Aquaria thought for a second. She walked over a wooden box beside the door and grabbed some cars and an orange track, throwing them to the grass in front of Brianna.

“You can have those.”

“What will you do?” Brianna asked, but Aquaria was already walking to the other side of the backyard to grab some stuffed animals.

Aquaria sat in front of her with the animals and started to play quietly with them. Brianna understood the memo immediately, took the cars and the track as she manipulated them around. It was fun, she couldn’t deny it, she didn’t have any cars like those at home. Maybe her dad would buy some.

If she lifted her head, she could see Alaska, Sharon and Bob talking in the kitchen, happily as they drank tea. She tried to ignore the fact that Aquaria was in front of her and continued with the cars, as Aquaria had the animals. Brianna couldn’t help but notice one of them, a giraffe, had a shiny purple dress on with little rhinestones.

“That dress is pretty,” she whispered, knowing Aquaria wouldn’t hear.

But Aquaria did hear. “I made it,” she proudly said, and lifted one of the other animals, a lion with a blue sweater. “I did this one too.”

“Really? How?”

“My mommy bought me things to make clothes pretty for my birthday,” Brianna didn’t know if Aquaria’s voice was what made the statement even worse. “Maybe you could borrow it. Your dress is ugly.”

Brianna frowned. Just when she thought they were having progress.

The rest of the time both remained silent. Brianna didn’t even want to play with the cars anymore, but every time she looked up, Bob was talking with Sharon and Alaska so excited, she didn’t want to ruin that. So she gulped and played, gulped and tried to forget Aquaria’s rudeness, gulped and ran the cars through the grass as fast as they could go.

The sunlight was intensifying when the glass door opened and Sharon walked out, her phone in hand.

“No, Jinkx; I already told you, it’s this Wednesday! Yeah, I know you have yoga, you don’t let me fucking forget. Can’t you just– okay, what if I drive Blair from school? Would you shut the fuck up?” she spoke on the phone. Aquaria and Brianna turned to see, but forgot it when they realized she was speaking to someone else. “Yeah, whatever. Send your fucking gift. I hope it’s something good.”

Sharon sighed and ended up the call. She turned at the little girls, changing her stressed grimace for a smile.

“You want lemonade?”

“I do, please, miss Sharon,” Brianna raised her hand and Sharon gestured for her to go inside.

When she stepped into the kitchen, Brianna felt like she could finally breathe. Sharon was handing her a glass full of lemonade when Bob spoke.

“I think it's time for us to go,” he said. Brianna nodded eagerly as she drank, making the three adults to laugh. “Calm down, Bri. You must be really tired for playing.”

Saying bye was easy for Brianna. Instead of shaking Sharon and Alaska’s hands as Bob did, she was praised and her hair was petted as Sharon muttered how pretty she was and Alaska complimented her ponytails, completely ignoring Aquaria outside.

Bob and Brianna walked home, again to the walls with no color or sign of human life, but what they soon hoped looked like Sharon and Alaska’s house. There were boxes still on the way to the kitchen and the living room of things Bob hadn’t unpacked.

Brianna turned the small television they had on, still on the floor since was one of the first things they unpacked, and sat in the couch as he continued opening and opening boxes.

“You haven’t told me anything about Aquaria,” he suddenly said.

She lowered the volume of Dora the Explorer to look back at him.

“Oh... it was fine.”

“Are you friends now?”

There were to options: lying to his dad, or ruining his hopes. Brianna didn’t even consider the second one.

“Yes! We are.”

He just smiled.

“That’s great because I have a surprise for you; I talked with Sharon and Alaska and we’re seeing if you can be in the same class as Aquaria in school.”

In that moment, Brianna realized two things:

  1. She would never be friends with Aquaria.


  1. She _hated_ lying to her dad.




End file.
